Do you know of a girl between the ages of 6 & 10 that has never played our great game of hockey and might be interested in trying the sport? Please forward this to them!

We are thrilled to be a host for the Canadian Tire First Shift Program again this winter with an all-girls session!

Designed to help girls fall in love with hockey before buying all the gear, our six-week learn to play program focuses on having fun while learning basic skills. Equipment is included with registration, which is only $199.

Victoria Minor Hockey Association is pleased to be participating in the Buddy Check for Jesse Mental Health Awareness program this season through their partnership with BC Hockey. We will be distributing green stick tape and other resources to our teams (atom through midget) over the next few days and encourage you to discuss this with your players. It is an important initiative to help normalize the conversation around mental health.

From BC Hockey:

BC Hockey has partnered with Buddy Check For Jesse to provide a Mental Health Awareness pilot program for the 2018-2019 season. Buddy Check was created by Dr. Stu Gershman who unfortunately lost his son Jesse to suicide October 29, 2014.

BC Hockey is reaching out to teams to support Mental Health awareness by participating in Buddy Check For Jesse. The program was developed for hockey coaches to deliver a message about mental health to their teams. It began with Jesse’s dad, Dr. Stu Gershman, wanting to help his other two boys feel support, to take action, to create awareness of Mental Health challenges, and to support their teammates. Stu believes that coaches are in a unique position to share this positive message to help raise awareness that mental health issues can affect anyone.

Stu is proud to have partnered with BC Hockey, CBI Health Group, and Suburbia studios (amongst others) and is grateful for the support he has received with this project.

Each team will receive eight (8) rolls of green tape, green wristbands, mental health awareness cards, and a coach’s speech to be facilitated prior to a game on the weekend of October 27-28, 2018. All materials will be sent to the team’s General Managers the week prior and BC Hockey will coordinate shipment or pick up for the Greater Victoria Minor Hockey Associations. Please post any social media to Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #BuddyCheckForJesse and #BuddyCheckBC.

We encourage all teams to start the conversation around Mental Health and utilize the resources provided to you for this initiative. Jesse’s family hopes that through creating this program in Jesse’s honour, it will help other youth and families.

The Victoria Cougars are hosting a Victoria Minor Hockey night! On Thursday, October 18, at 7pm, the Cougars battle the Comox Valley Glacier Kings! Have your player wear their Icehawks jersey and your immediate family gets free admission! There will be prizes throughout the night and the Cougars will sign autographs between periods. Let’s support our local Junior B boys and fill the arena with Icehawks!

This Saturday, September 15th, come out to Archie Browning Arena for a fun day to meet your fellow players and parents, have a hot dog, check out Ice Hawks gear and ask the board members and coaches any questions you might have.

BBQ
From 11-2pm, there will be a BBQ in front of Archie Browning. We will have hot dogs, veggie dogs and drinks will be available (free for players – by donation for non-players).

ICETIMES
Come on out for a fun (optional) skate with your new and old teammates. Coaches will be organizing fun activities such as scrimmages and games (depending on the division.) See the ice schedule on the website for exact times.

PARENTMEETINGS
We will be holding parent meetings for each group (see schedule below), where board members and key team staff will go over the association’s expectations and answer any questions you might have. According to BC Hockey regulations, one parent for each child is required to attend a parent meeting at the start of each season, so please be sure to sign in.

All parent meetings will be held in the warm area at Archie Browning.

SOCKS & JERSEYSSALE
Since we had an opportunity to organize our equipment rooms, we have LOTS of socks and gently-used jerseys for sale. There are some cool older jerseys form previous rep teams and spring hockey. These would make great practice jerseys! They will all be on sale for $2, $5 or $10. Cash only.

GEARSWAP
We will have a few tables set up where parents are encouraged to bring used gear to swap, trade or sell. Feel free to bring it by starting at around 8am.

ICEHAWKSGEAR
We will have a table with Ice Hawks clothing (jackets, hoodies, pants, hats, etc.) to try on and order.

VOLUNTEERS
We’re always looking for people to help out! If you’d like to volunteer to help out with setup or BBQing, please contact safety@victoriaminorhockey.ca.